Editorial: Path to more jobs doesn't start with fight

File photo / Associated PressHouse Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens, at left, as President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with Congressional leadership in July.

A protracted battle over scheduling wouldn't have created a single job.

Last Wednesday's brief dustup over President Obama's request to address a joint session of Congress seemed, for a few hours anyway, to be about to boil over into yet another bitter partisan fight.

How did this happen? Who caused the problem in the first place? Who would emerge as the winner? There'd be an endless series of questions like these, fascinating to the inside-the-Beltway corps, but little but annoying to everyone else in the land.

Thankfully, the 10-hour war ended when the president agreed to a request from House Speaker John Boehner to move the address from Wednesday to Thursday. Thank goodness for small favors.

Now, on to substance.

The president says he will unveil a set of job-creation proposals that can generate bipartisan support in Congress. Here's hoping. In the current poisonous atmosphere, there'd be those who would balk at anything Obama uttered. If they even bothered to listen to the end of a sentence.

But not all of Congress is so inclined. There are still lawmakers from both parties who are willing to entertain a good idea, both for its own sake and for the sake of the nation.

The citizens are fed up with Washington. The president's approval ratings are poor, but, compared to Congress, he's doing fabulously. More bickering will hurt everyone in Washington even as it does more damage across the land. Friday's jobs report - there were no new jobs in August - only added to the sense of urgency.

The president has the stage he wants. If his proposals are, in fact, bipartisan, it will be up to lawmakers to get on board. Quickly. This is not to suggest that Congress should just OK whatever Obama proposes. But it should find areas of general agreement and act on them.